The Living Dead by Isaiah Reaves at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company

From Ensemble to Principal Cast!!!

From September to October, I had the opportunity of performing in the world premiere of The Living Dead by Isaiah Reaves at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. CSC commissioned Reaves to develop a modern adaptation of the 1968 independent horror film Night of the Living Dead. Reaves reimagines the classic as it might unfold with a queer Black protagonist at the center, while also exploring the racial undertones of the original film and how that would interpreted in the 2020’s. The characters in the story must confront their own biases around gender, sexuality, race, and leadership. The retelling also examines the current global pandemic through the lenses of the classic horror film genre.

Isaiah Reaves is a playwright on the rise. I had previously worked with him in a tech capacity on his regional premiere of I Shall Not Be Moved at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati. It was wonderful to work with him again as an actor this time. CSC’s mission involves redefining and expanding The Classic Canon. They look for writing that embodies their mission of holding the mirror up to nature, fostering empathy in our audience, and feeding the dialogue in the larger community. The show is nominated for Best New Play at the 2022 Broadway World Cincinnati Awards. I felt honored to be part of the experience.

I started out playing Duane, the lover of the protagonist Ben, who gets attacked in the prologue and doesn’t return until the end of the play… as a zombie! I ended up switching over to play Ben for our final week of performances, from 10/21/22-10/29/22. Throughout the rehearsal process, our lead actor battled with an illness that forced him in and out of the hospital. He crafted a specific and strong character, so when I stepped up, I didn't super intimidated. It felt great to know that the company felt they could trust me to take that role on last minute. Here’s a nice message I received after my first performance as the lead!